


the right type (your knight in shining armor)

by radiantbeams



Category: One Direction (Band), Shawn Mendes (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Meet-Cute, Schmoop, shawn's irrational fear of bugs that may or may not be canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 20:50:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13509528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantbeams/pseuds/radiantbeams
Summary: The “I live next door and I heard screaming so I came over thinking someone was getting murdered and now we’re both trying to get the spider out of your apartment” AUIncluding late night conversations and broke college students and Niall promises he doesnothave a savior complex, hedoesn't.





	the right type (your knight in shining armor)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jarpadsalecki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarpadsalecki/gifts).



> This is for the lovely [Michelle](http://haroldtea.tumblr.com/) who's birthday is TODAY :D
> 
> She asked me in passing as a joke like a month ago to write her a fic for her birthday and then we both I guess kind of forgot about it. Then three days ago I was like 'wasn't I supposed to do something??' and here we are! It's very short because I'm usually a very very slow writer and I only had three days to get this done BUT thank you [Joely Olivia](https://lemoneyesharry.tumblr.com/) for doing my last read-through.
> 
> Title is from the song 'The Right Type' by Chromeo. (it's a truly horrible song please don't think less of me, I liked the lyrics before I actually listened to it)

Niall was just a normal bloke, none of that ‘knight in shining armor’ crap that everyone would play as kids. He wasn’t particularly brave or anything. Just a normal twenty-something guy, just graduated from school, new to the city. So if he doesn’t have a savior complex, why the hell is he standing outside his neighbor’s door, prepared to knock, while _someone_ is screaming bloody murder inside?

 

He hasn’t met this neighbor yet. Meeting new people has always been a little terrifying for him. He’d only just moved in three weeks ago. Nathalie, the neighbor on the other side was nice enough, mid-thirties, had a dog she carried around in a purse. A little weird, but nice enough. The only thing he knew about this neighbor was that they lived in 4F and their little nameplate on the letterbox said ‘S. Mendes’.

 

Honestly, he wouldn’t even bother checking out the noise, but it’s well past eleven o’clock at night and it really does sound like someone’s in trouble over here.

 

He sighs, steels himself for a moment, and knocks. There’s a big commotion behind the door as Niall waits. He’s just about to knock again, because they must not have heard him the first time round, when the it finally swings open.

 

There’s a tall, very tall, frazzled looking man now standing in front of him, breathing heavily and carrying a broom. They stare at each other for a moment before Niall realizes he’s the one who’s supposed to speak.

 

“Um… Y’alright? I heard some… shouting,” Niall asks nervously, kind of worried about the answer.

 

The guy looks over his shoulder for a moment. “No, no, everything’s fine. Sorry about-- Sorry about that.” This dude looks so fucking nervous. Something else has to be going on. “I’ll keep it down,” he goes to step back, but then thinks better of it and stay standing gingerly in the doorway.

 

“Are you sure?” Niall asks, wrinkling his brow. It’s taking everything he’s got not to be a nosy fucker and try and peer around him to see what’s up. “Do you need me to, like, call anyone for you? I’m just next door. I’m Niall, actually, don’t think we’ve met,” he would hold out his hand for a shake but it’s really cold and he’s got them stuffed under his armpits so they don’t, like, freeze and fall off.

 

The guy laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, looking over his shoulder again. “No, thanks though, Niall. I’m Shawn,” he chuckles once again. “But really, I’ve got everything um-- well not under control but uh, everything’s fine.”

 

Niall quirks up an eyebrow. “Well, if you’re sure… Do you live alone? Is someone here with you?” Because Niall really can’t wake up tomorrow with the headline ‘Man Murdered in His Sleep - Neighbors Do Nothing To Help Him’.

 

Shawn laughs, a little manic, and brings his hands up to cover his face, the broom whacking him in the nose. “God, this is so embarrassing.” When he looks back up his cheeks are flushed beet read. Niall just stands there, very very confused. “No, I live alone. I just-- Well, you see…” he trails off, chewing on his bottom lip. “There’sagiantspiderinmykitchenandIsweartogodit’schasingmeandI’mkindoftooterrifiedtokillit,” he says in one big rush.

 

“Excuse me, what?” Because he could not have heard him right.

 

Shawn sighs. “There’s a huge bug-- spider-- _something_ in my kitchen and it chased me and went under the fridge and… and I’m really scared,” he says in a small voice, looking down nervously as his hands twist against the broomhandle.

 

Niall huffs out a laugh, rolling his eyes. He pushes past Shawn into the apartment. It’s laid out the exact same way as his own, just a mirror image. “Under the fridge, you said?”

 

Shawn follows hesitantly behind him. Niall turns around to look back at him when he doesn’t get a verbal response. Shawn nods, chewing on his fingernail.

 

Niall smiles at him, trying to look comforting. “Here, give me that,” he says, taking the broom. “Do you have a cup? And a piece of paper?”

 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Shawn looks around, picking up a dirty cup from the sink (which is pretty much overflowing), pouring it out and handing it to him. “Hold on.” He goes off, presumably, in search of some paper.

 

Niall crouches back down, broom in hand, to look under the refrigerator. There doesn’t seem to be anything under there, just a bunch of lint, really. He wiggles the broom to disturb whatever’s down there, and sure enough, a spider crawls out in a rush to find a new hiding spot. Niall claps the cup overtop of it, capturing it for good.

 

He waits, leaned up against the kitchen counter for Shawn to get back. He’s got one of those takeout menus they leave wedged in the door-jam in his hand as he walks back into the kitchen. He looks down just in time to avoid overturning the spider-prison and jumps back with a little yelp.

 

“Is that it?” He asks, panic in his voice.

 

Niall laughs again, he really doesn’t mean to poke fun, but it’s just too hilarious. This huge, handsome, broad-shouldered guy, afraid of a little bug.

 

“Yeah, that’s it,” he takes the postcard and slides it under the cup, carrying it gingerly outside.

 

Shawn hovers behind him, very concerned, as Niall brushes the spider onto the railing outside.

 

“There ya go! All gone,” he smiles, holding the cup and paper out for Shawn to take back. Shawn just looks at them warily. “Oh, jesus. It’s gone, alright? Not gonna hurt you,” he laughs anyway, walking back into Shawn’s apartment.

 

He gets both of the items securely in the trash, because who are we kidding of course Shawn’s not going to ever use that cup again.

 

“Well, I guess you’re good, then,” he wrings his hands together, looking around as if there were something more to do.

 

That seems to shake Shawn out of the sort of stupor that he was in. “Yeah! Oh, yes, thank you. Thank you so much. I owe you for like eternity,” he says, barreling into Niall for an unexpected hug.

 

Niall chuckles nervously, bringing his arm up to pat him on the back, the hug dragging on. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

 

Shawn steps away sheepishly, crossing his arms over his chest and clearing his throat. “Yep, yeah, I’m good. Just been a bit-- Been an eventful evening,” he says, curling his toes against the linoleum floor.

 

Niall sighs. He wants to go to bed, he wants to go back over to his apartment and finish that book he was reading and turn on his heated blanket and _go to bed_. But Shawn’s still looking pretty frazzled and Niall’s mum would kill him if she knew he just abandoned his poor neighbor after a trauma like this. Even if said trauma was just being surprised by a tiny eight-legged friendly pest.

 

“Put the kettle on, we’ll make some tea. It’ll make you feel better. I promise,” Niall says, smiling at the way Shawn immediately relaxes.

 

Turns out, Shawn doesn’t have any tea. He doesn’t really have much of anything. Niall goes over and gets his own tea tin, along with an assortment of snacks, because might as well. He makes it himself with Shawn’s electric kettle that he definitely had to dust off before he plugged it in.

 

They make idle conversation for most of the night, laid out on Shawn’s futon, overlooking the city. The vertical blinds are stuck open and Shawn assures him that it’ll happen in his own apartment too, it’s just a matter of time. Niall finds himself talking about how hard it was to move, not having any direction for where he was going or what he would do once he got there. He doesn’t really know what it is that makes him open up. Maybe just a desire to make a new friend, create a connection to replace all the ones he didn’t necessarily lose, but he definitely doesn’t have any here with him. Or maybe it was because Shawn ended up being a really easy person to talk to, when he wasn’t screaming bloody murder.

 

Shawn is younger than him, here on scholarship for university. He had a roommate that bailed the second week of classes, which is why he has no food in his cabinets, since he’s forced to pick up the rest of the rent. Niall feels strangely old as Shawn talks. Roommates and university and pot noodles all seem like a lifetime ago, not just a couple of years.

 

The morning sun starts casting long shadows across their intertwined legs. Their mumbled conversations eventually dying out completely once exhaustion takes over. It’s stupid, really that he came over. And it’s stupid that he stayed, too. He has less than three hours to get to work and the dark circles under his eyes make it hard enough to stay focused during the day as it is. But he can’t bring himself to regret it. Not when Shawn unexpectedly, because god, it seems like everything Shawn does is unexpected. But not when Shawn unexpectedly places a kiss to his cheek, blushing with a ‘ _see you around, Niall'_  quiet on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Michelle I hope you liked it :)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are much appreciated from everyone <3
> 
> [HERE](http://radiantbeams.tumblr.com/post/170254435684/the-right-type-your-knight-in-shining-armor) is the rebloggable tumblr link to share!


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